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Wand
' Wands' are spell-casting implements commonly used by artificers, clerics, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards alike. Constructed from wood most commonly wands typically have arcane energies of their own. Sometimes this energy allows the caster to simply empower their spells, while other wands possess the ability to cast their own. Description A wand is a thin baton of wood or bone that is capped with a gemstone of some kind that contains a single spell. Physical Description: A typical wand is 6 inches to 12 inches long and about an inch thick, and often weighs no more than 1 ounce. Most wands are wood, but some are bone. A rare few are metal, glass, or even ceramic, but these are quite exotic. Also, all wands have a Arcane Gem or some crystal at its tip, and most are decorated with carvings or runes. Staves / Rods / Wands The main difference between a Staff, Rod or Wand is the intended purpose. A wand, technically, only possesses a single spell within its matrix. They are more easily created because they are designed to only hold a single spell. A rod, as it is large enough to accomodate a larger gem in the eye and a more sturdy shaft, may hold up to three seperate spells within its matrix without causing decay within the object. A staff, for much the same reason that a Rod is able to accomodate additional spells within its matrix, is able to hold up to six seperate spells. It may be easier for a caster to turn out a series of simple, Enchanted objects rather than a fully charged rod or staff depending on how often they will need the spell within it. 'Level Limitation' Another difference between the enchanting of staves versus wands is that wands can only handle spells up to third level. Anything higher and there is an increased chance that the structure of the wand would not be able to contain the energy necessary to fuel the spell and risk release the stored energy at all once - in the form of a large explosion. 'Size Variation' A common practice, especially for Apprentices, is to create a staff-sized wand. That is, the "wand" (a single-spell item with multiple charges) is as large as a staff. This, essentially, allows them to have two wands at their disposal; one in their hand as a "staff" and another at their belt as a more traditional "wand". Enchanting a Wand Example Construction: A young wizard, Alwyn, wishes to create a staff-sized wand with a light spell within it as a secondary wand. Alwyn, an apprentice Wizard, begins the creation of a staff by finding an oak tree in the woods near his Master's town in the March of Wyck. Checking the diameter of the tree against his own grip, he decides that there is enough of a shaft within the tree before the branches fork at the top. Since he needs to take the tree as a whole to start the process. he uses a small spade to dig the roots free and then removes the upper branches with a hand-axe. Not wishing to anger the spirits of the forest, he plants an acorn in the hole left by the trees roots before returning to his master's tower. Alwyn's master had given him a fist-sized hunk of Orblen, that had been smoothed into the shape of an egg, to be used as his Eye and he would need to combine the two to make his staff. After cleaning the dirt from the root end, he cuts away the smaller of the wooden tendrils to leave three long, woody segments to secure the egg-shaped stone in place. With some clay and wood shavings prepared for the "Shape Wood" spell, Alwyn uses his magic to shape the rooted end of the tree around the honey-stone egg and secure the two together. This is simply the first step in the ritual; preparing the staff for the initial enchantment. Once the Eye and the Shaft have been combined through a natural Crest, the staff is ready to be enchanted as a conduit for Alwyn's magic. His master instructs that he has to prepare the stone and staff to become one, whole, item rather than the two seperate parts. He does this by channeling his mana into the Shaft and the Eye at the same time. Three points of mana are spent to ensure that the item is well-charged. Once that is done, the staff is ready to receive its first spell. At this point, the caster has to make a decision: is the staff going to serve as -just- a battery and serve as a reservoir for extra mana or will it have spells set within it that are more easily drawn upon? Imprinted Spells Often this is a spell that is a simple, but widely-used spell such as Light. To 'imprint' the spell within the Staff, it will need to be cast upon the item twice; once to imprint it and the other to solidify it. Once solidified, the staff will need a reservoir of energy from which to draw when it casts the spell. Mana Reservoir For every charge set into the item, the caster must channel two points of mana. So if the caster wishes to store twenty charges into the staff, they will need to cast forty points of mana worth into the spell. It is at this point that the ritual becomes lengthy and often requires additional support. Alwyn and his master begin channeling mana into the staff to energize it. For each point of mana that Alwyn pushes into the staff his master matches it. This, essentially, means that Alwyn does not need to cast the points twice. Types of Wands Wands, just as staves, are attunded to certain types of magic. In general there can be Divine, Arcane or Natural wands but they can also have more differences within those types. 'Arcane Wands ' These are differentiated by the spheres of magic. Conjuration wands are different from Evocation wands and the like. Should a wizard attempt to use a wand that is of a different sphere than their own, they will feel the 'sting' as though they were attempting to cast magic beyond their means. 'Divine Wands ' They differ in a similar pattern but they are separated by alignments such as Good vs Evil, Law vs Chaos or based on various Domains. Should a cleric attempt to use a wand that is of a different alignment than their own, they will feel the 'sting' as though they were attempting to cast magic beyond their means. 'Necromantic Wands' See also: Necromantic Wands Wands of this sort are very dangerous in that they are divine in nature but can be used by and are often created for Wizards. Category:Implements Category:Arcane Lexicon Category:Gear/Arcane Category:Gear/Divine Category:Magic Item